There’s a chance that Lauri Markkanen is the best shooter in this year’s class — as a 7-footer. The Finnish native has more than exceeded the high expectations set for him coming into the season, as he has been the focal point of one college basketball’s more versatile offensive units in Arizona.
With the NBA trending in the direction that it currently is, Markkanen’s skill set is one that will be highly sought after come draft night. Not only is he hitting on an absurd number of threes (44.4 percent on 4.4 attempts per game), but he’s scoring efficiently from virtually every level on the offensive end. He’s a high I.Q. player who understands the flow of the offense, and can play within it while searching out opportunities for himself and clearing out space for others work around him.
Markkanen isn’t fleet of foot, either. He’s a relatively uninspiring athlete, with decent mobility but underwhelming length and a frame that still hasn’t filled out yet. But he still finds ways to beat his man in a variety of sets. He handles well enough to to outpace a traditional big on the exterior, and has the post-up game needed to take advantage of smaller defenders on the low block. He’s not Dirk — so get that comparison out of your head — but he is one of the more innately skilled bigs we’ve had in recent draft history, and someone whose offense alone gives him star potential at the next level.
Previous Ranking: 9
One of the simplest — yet most effective — ways for teams to integrate Markkanen into the offense is going to be the pick-and-pop. The gravity of his shooting could keep defenders from doubling or switching off the drive, leading to more opportunities en route to the basket for the ball handler. If the opposition does double off of Markkanen, his quick, fluid release makes it nearly impossible to recover in time.
He also has the versatility needed to handle the ball in the pick-and-roll, something few 7-footers can genuinely execute effectively. Like Hartenstein a few slides back, it ends with a solid dish in the interior.
Markkanen’s offensive game as all-inclusive as they come at his size, and he should only become more formidable as his frame continues to fill out.
Defensive woes, at this stage, are the one concern hounding Markkanen’s draft stock moving forward. He doesn’t show great lateral quickness or awareness on that side of the ball, and can often get drawn out of assignments or commit unnecessary fouls. He — simply put — doesn’t protect the rim much, and is easily outmatched outside. Some of that could obviously improve with NBA practice, but teams will likely have to take the bad with the extreme good he provides on the other end.
And, do so they will. Markkanen has unicorn-esque offensive potential, and somebody ought to jump on that in the middle of the lottery.